The Great Game

(A Synopsis)
Lord Curzon said Whoever controls Central Asia, controls the world. He then tried to
control Afghanistan with his On to the Oxus policy which ended in ignominious defeat
leading to the Back to the Indus retreat. The British never ventured into the wild wild
west and Peshawar never really flew the Union Jack. The Mongols, and Alexander faced
severe problems in Pakistan and Afghanistan. That is why Afghanistan and Pakistan are
often called the graveyard of empires. Archives reflect a historical a historical perspective
encapsulated by Rudyard Kipling and others. This was dubbed the Great Game by the
British and Russian in the 19th century.
The Anglo-Russian Great Game 1813-1907
Catherine th Great had bequeathed her progeny to control the warm waters of the
Arabian Sea. This was the reason the Tsars tried to make their way down to Kolachi jo
goth (Karachi). The so-called classical Great Game was about Imperial Britain and
Tzarist Russia attempting to control Central Asia. Russia was expanding into Central Asia
at the time. Tsarist forays into Central Asia led to British concerns that Moscow would
threaten te British Empire. The Union Jack attempted to bring the wild tribes of Pakistan
and Afghanistan under British jurisdiction. London Afghanistan twice in an attempt to
place British puppets in Kabul and other areas of the region. At the time there was no
Afghanistan. The country was a construct of the Tsars and the British colonialists. They
demarcated the borders and created a non-mans landa buffer region between the
British and Russian empires. Thus a non-entity called Afghanistan came into existence.
For the past century, the entire world has been trying to make this entity a reality. All
have failed. , the first famously ending in the complete destruction of the invading British
army. The Great Game subsided a bit when ended when the the USSR came into
existence Britain ceased to exist as a world power and the Soviets were more
interested in Europe than South Asia.
The Anglo-Soviet Great Game 1917-1941
The downsizing of the Ottoman Empire and the ascendancy off the USSR and Lenins and
Stalins desire to extend the borders of mother Russia into unchartered territory created
new tensions. Britain got embroiled in Afghanistan again. It fought a third Afghan war to
settle the border between Afghanistan and the British Empire. The artifical state of
Afghanistan, which had never existed in history came into being. It was sequestered on
one side by the Durand Line and the other by the Amu Darya (fka Oxus). The principality
of Kabul became an entity, and it brought other regions under its control. It failed
miserably to create federal structures in the Hindu Kush. The advent of World War II too
the rivalry to another level. Both Britain and Russia got tangled up in various webs
during the Cold war.
The USSR-USA Great Game 1979-1989
There are many reasons for the invasion of Kabul by the USSR. It is said that Amins
coup against King Zahir Shah was an attempt to change the status quo, and to realign
Kabul with Washington. This was seen as a direct provocation by the progeny of
Catherine the Great. To prevent the American take over of the territory between the
Indus and the Oxus, the USSR sent troops in Afghanistan in 1979. Babrak Kamal
supposedly rode to Moscow on a Russian tank. The Soviet troops arrived ostensibly on
the request of the legal government in Kabul. The world didnt see it that way. Pakistan
was the first government to oppose the Russian expansionism, because it saw it as a
direct threat to Islamabad. Delhi supported the Russian move. Moscow wanted to end

the widespread tribal revolts against Kabul. For two years the Pakistanis were the only
ones fighting the Russians. In 1981 the US and its allies began providing financial and
military support to the Afghan freedom fightersall routed through the ISI. Millions of
Muslim kids were recruited by the CIA to fight for the US and destroy the USSR. One of
those who came to fight for America was Osama Bin Laden. After the USSR withdrew out
of the Hindu Kush, the US lost interest. As a parting thank you note, it delivered the
Pressler Amendment to Islamabadten years of debilitating sanctions. Afghanistan
descended into Civil War and Pakistan got the present of the Drug and Kalashnikov
culture. As Imran Khan said, the American did their deed and left us to clean the mess. ,
leaving the mujahideen to fight it out among themselves. The Talibs were a US attempt
to bring sanity to the Khyber and beyond.
American-Taliban Great Game 2001-2011
Ostensibly it was the 9/11 attack in New York that led the US to invade Afghanistan.
Many claim that the Afghan invasion was planned way before September 2001. The US
leveraged the Tajik led Northern Alliance to oust the Pakhtuns from power. The Taliban
regime fell and was replaced by the present Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. As the Bush
Administration got bogged down in Iraq and reduced its military presence the Talibs
began to control most of Afghan territory. Bharat and America attempted to destabilize
Pakistan using fake movements like the TTP which were constructs of RAW and the CIA.
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan will begin in July 2011. The Abbotabad raid
provided the US the victory needed which would precipitate a speedy withdrawal without
the baggage of Cut and Run As Dr. Jamil has pointed out the Great Game has been
going on for millenia.
ANCIENT PROTO-HISTORY GREAT GAME:
If we take the history back to abt 5000 yrs ago when none had heard about Jews,
Greeks, Iran, Russia Indus river was the boundary between a rich South Asia/Punjab
and impoverished West. The Akkadian-Assyrian Arabs, and their Eastern enemy mostly
under control of the Elamite (Dravidians linguistic cousins). The game was to control
South Asian trade surpluses. The Assyrian Arabs had predominant control up to the
Industhey had one tribute paying Hindu king in Punjab-Indus valleyJibra of Malluhva.
Later in history Pre -Greek era, Cyrus/Darius had wrested control of Arab lands plus the
area West of Indus. After that we see Sessanid Iran on the rise after a short Greek
interlude.
Lesson from all these histories is transparentlocals (now Pakistan + Afghanistan) are
the owners. Pakistan controls both sides of the Indus and being a regional power (5th
largest army + Nuclear arms), has the responsibility for regional peace. The US and
China cannot do a thing without Pakistan. India wants to only defend Hindu
nationalism and will be always shy of wars. Pakistan thus directly controls even Indias
future being a part of great game.
One sees the critical importance of local players. and the lessons of history (as reviewd
by you) supports the future. As it is clear from ancient most history. What has really
changed ? India has lost its ancient importance farming surpluses feeder of the west,
due to industrial revolution since 1800. India is of no military significance to west or
east.
The Latest Great Game:
The new Great Game is not about the control of resourcesit is about the prevention of
the rise of Muslim Asia.